Cass County

POVERTY BY AGE

While they say little about economic ups and downs in the decade between
Censuses, income and poverty data provide us with economic "snapshots" of
an area at the time of enumeration that can in turn be compared with
economic data gathered from earlier Censuses. Poverty status, as measured in this chart, is determined by Poverty Thresholds, which take into account a number of factors,
including income
and family size
and structure.
For example, the 2000 Poverty Threshold for a family of four in the continental United States with two related children was 17,463. However, Poverty Thresholds are misleading because they do not provide an accurate picture of what a “poor” family’s life is like. According to the National Center for Children in poverty, most families of four would have to make twice
their assigned Poverty Threshold in order to provide their children with basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care.

Poverty by Age, 1990 and 2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total Population*

20,954

100.00%

23,994

100.00%

In Poverty

1,622

7.74%

1,239

5.16%

Not in Poverty

19,332

92.26%

22,755

94.84%

11 Years and Under

4,142

19.77%

4,224

17.60%

In Poverty

357

1.70%

343

1.43%

Not in Poverty

3,785

18.06%

3,881

16.17%

12 to 17 Years

1,894

9.04%

2,472

10.30%

In Poverty

179

0.85%

156

0.65%

Not in Poverty

1,715

8.18%

2,316

9.65%

18 to 64 Years

12,383

59.10%

14,556

60.67%

In Poverty

808

3.86%

617

2.57%

Not in Poverty

11,575

55.24%

13,939

58.09%

65 Years and Above

2,535

12.10%

2,742

11.43%

In Poverty

278

1.33%

123

0.51%

Not in Poverty

2,257

10.77%

2,619

10.92%

* The total population is the population for which poverty status is determined. Therefore, the total in this table should not be expected to match the total population in the population growth topic.